Hearts striker Juanma Delgado to play in cup tie

BARRY ANDERSON

JUANMA DELGADO is set for his Hearts debut against Arbroath tomorrow night after recovering from a groin injury.

The Spanish striker is expected to take his competitive bow at Tynecastle as a substitute, with head coach Robbie Neilson keen to get him involved in the League Cup first-round tie.

Juanma joined Hearts from the Greek side Kalloni last month and played during the club’s trip to the Republic of Ireland. However, he missed the second part of pre-season due to the groin problem. He has now trained for the last week without any reaction and Neilson revealed today that he is ready to play.

“He’s ready. He won’t start the game tomorrow, I don’t think he’s quite ready for that, but I’ll hopefully try and get him on at some point,” said Neilson. “Juanma has trained well over the last week and he’s nearly there. It’s a long season and we don’t want to rush him. He’s had a wee niggle with his groin and he’s also trying to settle into the club and the environment. He’ll be a good player for us this season, that’s for sure.”

Neilson underlined that no-one at Hearts will be putting the forward under any pressure. “There’s no pressure on him at all. The only pressure he’ll have is the pressure he puts on himself. I’m positive he’ll score goals for us. You can see that in training. He’s got real quality and class, he’s good physically, so it will come.”